Press Release
For immediate release
CIWM Trustee Dr Anna Willetts Addresses Organised Waste Crime on Channel 4 News
Dr Anna Willetts, CIWM Trustee and Past-President, was a key expert in a recent Channel 4 News feature, "Organised waste crime and ‘mass intimidation’ in English village," which aired on 4th December.
The report investigated a mass illegal waste dump in Sittingbourne, Kent, focusing on the key challenges authorities face in tackling long-standing, large-scale environmental crime.
Dr Willetts, an environmental crime lawyer, drew attention to the challenges relating to the speed of regulatory action and the perceived lack of coordination among enforcement bodies.
She noted the extensive nature of large illegal sites, such as the one in Sittingbourne, which has remained uncleared for years, stating the delay in clearing the waste was a source of frustration to the community and the professional waste sector.
Defining the issue as serious, organised environmental crime, Dr Willetts questioned the effectiveness of current measures, pointing to existing legal mechanisms available to regulators that have not been applied in the Sittingbourne case.
The feature also touched on the issue of agency collaboration (i.e. between the Environment Agency, local authorities and the police), highlighting the need for action to reassure individuals who are often too intimidated to report crimes, so that if they do report an incident, it will be acted upon.
CIWM continues to advocate for decisive, coordinated action against waste crime, which causes significant environmental, social, and economic threats. It also provided expert input to the recent House of Lords Inquiry into Waste Crime, which made clear recommendations to Government and regulators.
Dan Cooke, Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at CIWM, states: "The Channel 4 News investigation highlights the unacceptable reality of serious and organised waste crime. Tackling waste crime must be prioritised. It causes misery and anxiety to people and communities across the UK, undercuts the legitimate sector, and damages local economies, costing the UK economy hundreds of millions of pounds every year.
"The professional resources and waste sector works to deliver vital services that protect human health and the environment and enable local economies to thrive. Therefore, we must ensure that concerted action holds the perpetrators, who knowingly operate outside the system, to account for these incidents.
"We support Dr Willetts' call for more effective and timely enforcement action. To tackle this, we need greater resourcing and stronger collaboration across all relevant enforcement bodies.”
CIWM calls on the UK Government and supporting agencies to prioritise the use of available legal powers, such as restriction orders, to ensure illegal waste sites are closed down and remediated quickly, preventing further environmental harm.
We also urge the Government to accelerate the implementation of the Resource and Waste Strategy reforms, particularly the introduction of digital waste tracking to deter criminals, and to ultimately improve public confidence by demonstrating that reported waste crime incidents result in effective, timely action.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For more information, please visit the Channel 4 News website for the full feature, "Organised waste crime and ‘mass intimidation’ in English village."
Press contact:
Kacie Foskett
T: +44 (0) 1604 620426
E: kacie.foskett@ciwm.co.uk